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Monday, 29 April 2013

Back to regular haunts down the River Great Ouse. On a nice Saturday afternoon I had planned just to take a wander to Roxton Locks and back. Should of been about 5 miles long but I decided to extend it slightly with a walk through the village of Roxton.

The river walk was as quiet as usual and it wont be long before the nettles invade again. The river bank was showing signs of the wet winter, a clear brown 'tide' mark along with (unfortunately) quite a bit of rubbish caught in the tree branches. It spoilt to whole calm river ambiance to be honest, no thoughts of a wind in the willows style of scene when their are carrier bags blowing in the willows.

The lock and weir had more water flowing through it than I had seen in a while (I avoided the path in the floods), last year it was more like a trickle over the weir. This year there was more of a rolling rumble. Much more exciting (if weirs can be exciting to a passer by, more exciting to a boat owner I'd guess!).

The village of Roxton was very pleasant and quiet. Didn't spot a pub or a shop, but that's quite normal these days. However even on a quiet Saturday you never escape the 'hum' of the A1. Would be nice to live in the middle of nowhere someday!

Sunday, 14 April 2013

After a few false starts I decided to try and get the full loop in. On a nice day at the weekend I feared the worst as far as crowds go. It turns out I was justified! The first car park was full of bikers, with BBQ's etc (it's about the size of 3-4 football pitches, a big car park). The second was taken over by the Riding for the Disabled. And the third? Nearly empty, phew! Luckily Grafham has more parking than most town centres!

Almost like the Seaside

Starting from the opposite side of the Water, I decided to go clockwise for a change (oh I live on the edge!). It was busy with bikers, walkers and families due to it being the weekend, but not that bad. The path is pretty wide and generally caters for all!